chandra levy will appear before a d.c. judge. among the questions left to answer -- why the judge ordered him to return. >> but first, we are watching winter weather this morning, bringing snow that could bury millions of people. this is being called an historic storm by some meteorologists. on storm 4 radar now, you see that there are two big storm systems here and here. one to the north, one to the south, of course. tom says they are going to collide. and the result could be a storm the northeast has not seen in decade. tom now in the storm center with what's expected and what it could mean for us. tom? we're already seeing the development now. the one up north around the great lakes with moisture to the south. both systems will be converging off the jersey coast and explosively developing. really going to affect millions as you mentioned from new york into new england. we're going to be affected here somewhat from that the storm. not a lot of snow. but maybe certainly wind. and maybe some flurries. around here now, our temperatures are cold. good morning. starting off into the 20s from

alexandria to germantown and bowie and in the district. it's a little bit warmer right near the freezing mark. and no precipitation on storm team 4 radar locally. right now as we zoom into central montgomery county, rockville, that's the location for our hometown forecast. temperatures by noontime will be up in the upper 30s under a cloudy sky. hour by hour for the region today, we'll have a lot of clouds through the day. maybe a little sun around sunrise. highs reaching the low fourth by early afternoon. we'll look at that and maybe a little wintry mix from the storm moving in tonight. i'll show you the timing coming up in ten minutes. a look at traffic now with danella, good morning. good morning, tom. just into the first 4 traffic office, an accident on the beltway in montgomery county. we'll take a closer look. this is just as you approach georgia avenue. delays are growing. here's a live look at university. you see piled high. the situation this -- once you get closer to georgia avenue, you'll see two left lanes blocked. reportedly four vehicles involved in the crash. we'll show you new hampshire

avenue because now just a moment ago as i was walking out, i hardly saw any cars. now you can start to see the congestion is growing. i'm back in ten minutes with an update. >> thank you. 6:02. later today, the man convicted of killing chandra levy will appear in a d.c. courtroom. we're still trying to get to the bottom of what this hearing is b. here's what we can tell you -- we know the convicted killer, ingmar guandique is, heading here from alabama. there have been two other closed door hearings in recent months to discuss the credibility of a witness in guandique's trial. we don't know if that's the man that testified that guandique confessed to killing levy while in prison on an unrelated conviction. new, a raging fire forces two people from their home this happened after midnight on dower drive in silver spring. when firefighters got there they found the house engulfed in flames. the two people who lived there were able to get out without being hurt. much of the top floor of that split-level home gutted right now. of course, the cause is under

investigation. today prince george's county schools weigh in on whether to implement new safety measures in the wake of the shooting at sandy hook elementary school. the "washington post" reports the county board of education will be given recommendations today that include requiring every person entering a county school to show i.d. the schools will also hold two large-scale drills each year including a lockdown drill next month and an active shooter drill in april. and a man is undergoing a menial evaluation this morning for trespassing in an anne arundel county school. 25-year-old justin beaumont is accuse of walking into north county high school in glen burnie, telling people he was bullied when he was a student there more than a decade ago. officers arrested him. when they searched his home, they found several weapons. police say the guns are legal. and beaumont was not armed when he was inside the school. today, it is defense secretary leon panetta's turn to answer questions about september's deadly attack in benghazi, libya. he and the chairman of the joint chiefs will testify before the senate armed services committee.

they will discuss the results of the defense department's internal review of the attack on the u.s. consulate. four americans were killed including ambassador chris stevens. we're learning that the same senate committee will not take a confirmation vote on the next defense secretary today as scheduled. members of the senate armed services committee decided to delay the vote on former senator chuck hagel. that's after republicans demanded more information. several senators want more details on hagel's business dealings and the content of past speeches. democrats say the move is just political posturing, and they fully expect hagel to be confirmed. it could be a grueling day for president obama's pick to head the cia. john brennan will face tough questions from democrats and republicans during his confirmation hearing. brennan, the president's chief counterterrorism adviser, is under scrutiny for the administration's use of drone strikes to kill suspected terrorists overseas. the senate intelligence committee will also likely grill him over his support for the

bush administration's interrogation policies. brennan served in the cia under president george w. bush. members of the senate intelligence committee will soon learn more about the obama administration's drone program. the white house says the justice department sent classified advice about the program to the senate and house intelligence committees. the documents reportedly state that it is legal for the government to kill u.s. citizens overseas if it believes they're high-ranking terrorists who are trying to kill americans. and a drastic call by the pentagon this morning ahead of what could be huge budget cuts next month. the navy will reduce the number of aircraft carriers in the strategic persian gulf from two to one. that decision comes just one day before the "uss harry truman" was supposed to leave norfolk for the gulf. two carrier groups have been stationed in the region for the majority of the past two years because of rising tensions with iran. this morning, president obama will speak at the national prayer breakfast at the washington hilton in northwest d.c. the president will meet with religious and community leaders

from across the nation taking part in the 61st annual prayer breakfast. that national prayer breakfast has been held every year since 1953. after that, the president will head to leesburg, virginia. he will lay out his second-term agenda at the house democratic issues conference that's going on at the lansdowne resort. vice president biden spoke it the group yesterday. he said the world has changed since 1994 when congress passed an assault weapons ban. many blamed that vote for costing democrats control of the house and senate. that ban has since expired. the high-end grocery store shut down by health inspectors. plus, this morning doctors are concerned that there may be a new strain of whooping cough.

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drives, kicks it out. whips for three. got it! >> how about that? another great night for the wizards against one of the best teams in the league. john wall led the wizards to a 106-96 win over the new york knicks. it is the team's first win over the knicks in three years. the wizards will try to go for the new york sweep against the brooklyn nets tomorrow. go, wiz. how about that? showing up at the right time. >> best part is i know how to pronounce nene, the basketball player. >> that's how we'll do it. >> there we go. we'll go to tom, easy to pronounce. tom? good morning. starting off, wintry cold. approaching 6:11. time for weather and traffic. temperatures are down into the 20s. that includes prince george's county, arlington, fairfax, montgomery counties, and just about the entire region, we are below freezing, in the 20s. reagan national right there at 33. then by noontime, upper 30s to near 40. and only the low 40s by mid-afternoon. we'll have cloudiness throughout

most of the day. maybe a little sun around dawn. then a wintry mix may move in late this evening. precipitation, rain pushing in. may begin as snow and sleet late this evening until after midnight tonight. melting on roadways. i'm back in ten minutes with another update with your seven-day outlook. breaking news, danella? good morning. just into the traffic office, we've been tracking an accident outer loop approaching georgia avenue. all of your lanes are temporarily going to be blocked. the situation is this -- the accident is on the left side of the roadway. left lane, left shoulder lane, as well as your left center lane. to get those cars out of the roadway to the right shoulder lane, you're going to have to shut the beltway down. as you're traveling at university boulevard, you see cars are basically at a standstill. want to look approaching new hampshire avenue. this is around i-95, heavy on the brakes here, as well. delays, just expect them. aaron? >> thank you. the event that brings magic johnson to the district.

god made a farmer. had to be somebody who would plow deep and straight and not cut corners. >> not everyone loved this ad. the problem one group had with one of the most popular commercials. we gotta sell the car. where would we even start?

get the car. hi howard. get in. hi, good to see you. start with an actual written offer when selling your car, no strings attached. carmax. start here.

hall of famer magic johnson will be in town today to try to reduce the stigma surrounding hiv. he will speak at hospital university hospital this afternoon. he retired in 1991 after learning he contracted the disease. he's since started a foundation to fund research and educate the public about hiv and aids. 6:15. a fraternity at duke university facing outrage after throwing a party that some say was racist and mocked the asian community. take a look at pictures now from that party. they show students wearing hats and sumo suits. some say the online invitation even had racist undertones. the party sparked protests on campus, but the university is not planning any discipline. >> it made us angry, and it's happened again and again. this is not the first instance. we felt like it was time that we do something about it. >> at the moment we're not aware

of overt violations. acting boorish and foolish is not in and of itself. i take it seriously. >> the local chapter has been suspended. the president of the chapter has apologized. for the first time in weeks, a boeing 8 787 dreamliner will take to the skies today. the faa gave boeing permission to fly the plane from texas to washington state. it's just a way to relocate the plane. all 787s remain grounded while investigators find out what's wrong with the lithium ion batteries. the ntsb says despite the issues, that type of battery isn't necessarily unsafe. the agency says manufacturers just need to build a reliable safeguard. don't be surprised if you see a new version of a popular super bowl ad in your facebook feed this morning. here's the original ad from sunday night. >> and on the eighth day god looked down on his planned

paradise and said, "i need a caretaker." so god made a farmer. >> latino groups were upset that the chrysler ad did not feature any hispanic farmers even though they make up the majority of agricultural workers in the country. this was the group's response. features the same speech from radio personality paul harvey. as you see, it includes some very different farmers. the group posted the fixed ad to its facebook page. more than 3.5 million people have seen it. discouraging news in the fight against alzheimer's. a new study says diagnosis of the disease is expected to triple by 2050. about five million people are living with alzheimer's in the u.s. now. and that number could reach nearly 14 million over the next four days. researchers say the increase is being driven by the aging baby-boomer population and that it could pace -- place a huge burden on the health care system. and a new study out this morning shows a new strain of whooping cough may be resistant

to vaccines. the discovery is published in today's "new england journal of medicine." doctors say the new strain may help explain why the u.s. just had its worst year for whooping cough in six decades. the highly contagious bacterial disease was common in the 1940s before a vaccine came out to treat it. new this morning, a new study shows low-calorie menu options are good for fast food business. the "wall street journal" obtained an advanced copy of the hutson institute study. it found a 5.5% increase in same-store sales from restaurants that offered more low-cal options. they also found a 5.5% decrease among restaurants offering fewer low-cal options. 21 fast food and restaurant trains were looked at from 2006 to 2011. a popular gourmet market shut down because of a health violation. dean and deluca on m street was closed because of vermin. public records indicate the store has had two other health department complaints just in the last few years.

the market is shut down until further notice. new this morning, the death toll has risen from a tsunami triggered by a powerful 8.5-magnitude earthquake in the south pacific. nine people are now dead in the solomon islands. these are some new pictures just coming in to our newsroom showing the damage from the deadly tsunami that hit yesterday. you see where the strong waves swept away villages and flooded homes. a nearly five-foot wave hit the area. rescuers still trying to reach some of the smaller islands in that region. we are talking about a storm in the northeast. and we're worried about what it's going do to our weather. it's calm, right? >> yep. tom kierein they're tell us what to expect. tom? that storm is going to be developing north and east of the metro area tomorrow. we're going to be on the edge of it. the southern edge of it. sort of on the warm side. it is developing, so it's going to have very minimal effects for us. but for new york city into new england, it's going to be a major winter storm. stay tuned if you plan on traveling that way. we're cold, 20s all around the region, that includes just about

all of virginia, all of west virginia, maryland. reagan national now at 33. montgomery, arlington, fairfax, prince george's counties now mid to upper 20s. you need your warm winter coat this morning. later today, up into the low 40s and clouds. then we could get a mix of snow and sleet as the precipitation first arrives tonight as the storm develops over us. and we will have that changing over to just a cold rain after midnight. initially, maybe just a two-hour period of a couple of -- maybe some -- couple hours of snow, sleet, melting on roads, then all rain on friday. highs in the upper 40s. windy, colder friday night. we'll be down to the 20s by dawn saturday. could get flurries flying through the air. maybe a passing snow storm late friday into perhaps midday saturday. sun back saturday afternoon. a high only up around 40. 20s on sunday morning. me? mid 40s. starting off next week, chance for more rain, highs in the 40s monday. could be milder on tuesday into the mid 50s. and maybe near 50 on wednesday

with a chance for some more rain. i'm back in ten minutes with a hometown forecast. your first 4 traffic this morning with danella with breaking news. good morning. still following an accident on the beltway. the outer loop at georgia avenue. the situation was the left side of the roadway was blocked by a multiple vehicle accident. to get the cars out of the road, they had to temporarily shut the beltway down to get the cars to the right shoulder lane. now the beltway has reopened. the accident is in your right shoulder lane approaching georgia avenue. you see at university boulevard, still seeing heavy delays. in fact, delays start prior to new hampshire avenue. let's head over to new hampshire avenue in maryland. this time, northbound heading toward the beltway, oakview drive. crash here involves a pedestrian reportedly with non-life-threatening injuries. however, you can see just the left lane is getting by the accident here. heads up if you're traveling new hampshire avenue trying to get on to the beltway. you can expect delays as you drive northbound. i'm back in ten minutes. back to you. >> thank you. new, a bone to pick with a

best picture nominee. >> why a congressman says there's a big mistake i

could this year's most

oscar-nominated film be inaccurate? according to congressman joe courtney from connecticut, "lincoln" falsely depicts his state's two congressmen at the time voting against the 13th amendment which outlawed slavery. courtney says all four congressmen backed the amendment. so far, dreamworks is not commenting. president obama could be trying to ground some private jets as part of the upcoming debt talks. the president is working to close tax loopholes including what he calls tax breaks for private jet owners. the national business aviation administration says closing the loophole would punish the one million-plus employees who work in the industry and would hurt the $150 billion in economic activity. overnight, somebody in virginia jumped up quite a few tax brackets. also, a very close call for a local business owner.

a news4 exclusive this morning. the owner of a local deli talking about the moment an explosion leveled his store and nearly killed him. what he told us from his hospital bed and why police are saying this is no accident.

good morning, i'm aaron gilchrest. >> i'm eun yang. someone in the commonwealth is waking up happy and wealthy. overnight we learned someone in virginia hit the powerball jackpot. where that ticket was sold and how much it's worth ahead at 6:40. right now, we're tracking a major storm bearing down on the northeast. take a look at the radar here. two storms will merge. when they do, they could dump two feet of snow on new england, yes, feet. a blizzard watch out for massachusetts and rhode island. and the threat of so much snow already has several major airlines offering options for travelers. delta, american, and jetblue are allowing passengers a one-time change to their flight free of charge if you're scheduled to fly tomorrow or saturday to several northeastern cities. usairways and southwest say they will offer travelers a chance to change flights. meteorologist tom kierein is tracking that storm and talking about a chilly day here. he's on the storm team 4 weather deck. good morning. >> yeah, feeling like a typical

february morning. right now we are below freezing. a calm wind under a cloudy sky right-hand the region. temperatures down into the 20s. and that includes prince george's county, arlington, fairfax, montgomery county, all of virginia, all of maryland, and west virginia. down into the 20s. reagan national at 33. now storm team 4 radar showing there may be a few flurries trying to reach the ground up in loudoun county. in tyson's corner, fairfax county, that's the hometown forecast location. and we'll have it up in the upper 30s by noontime. the cloud cover ands we get into the rest of the day, we'll have our temperatures throughout the region around noontime, near 40 degrees. between now and then, it will struggle to get above freezing until maybe 9:00 or so. by then, into the low to mid 30s. all cloudy. and then upper 30s to to near 40 at noontime. the sunset at 5:37. a look at the rest of the day,

when we might get a wintry mix tonight. coming up in ten minutes. first 4 traffic now with danella. good morning. good morning. tracking the accident on the beltway in montgomery county slowing traffic toward georgia avenue. seeing significant delays jammed at university boulevard. it will take almost a half-hour to drive toward i-270 on the outer loop. heading to new hampshire avenue, this time in maryland as you approach the beltway. the right side of the road blocked. the crash involves a pedestrian with non-life-threatening injuries. as you continue northbound, just the left lane will get you by the accident. over to the rails, a six-minute delay, marc camden south, train 843. if you're taking metro or vre, they're not reporting delays at this time. >> thank you. i want to show damage left behind from an explosion yesterday at a deli in northern virginia. this morning there are still a

lot of questions about what happened and why it happened. and that explosion sent the shop's owner to the hospital with severe burns. this morning police trying to figure out who's behind the blast. news4's megan mcgrath live outside the market in lorton with the latest. megan? >> reporter: well, that's right. still no arrests in this case. and a lot of questions, namely who is behind this. what was the motivation, and who firebombed this deli. you see behind me the damage here that was done, the window have now been boarded up. extensive damage. take a look at this video shot yesterday morning. police are looking for a man that witnesses saw running from the scene shortly after the blast. and investigators said a man may have been injured. it happened around 10:30 wednesday morning. the deli owner, lawrence reece, says he was unloading boxes from his car when suddenly there was an explosion. now reece spoke exclusively to news4 by phone from his hospital bed. he suffered very serious burns,

but he is recovering. he says the explosion caught him completely by surprise. >> when i looked back at the store, all i could look up -- fire, boom, explosion. i'm angry. >> reporter: reece says he has no idea who want to do this sort of thing, what the motivation would be. police, again, are looking for an individual that was seen by witnesses running from the blast. that person also may have been injured. and according to neighbors in the area, a year ago the deli was vandalized. they say that windows were smashed and graffiti spray painted. it's unclear if the incidents are related. maethd, news4, back to you. >> thank you. new this morning, we are working to find out more about an jordan accident that killed a pedestrian in bowie.

video shows the car involved and the damage to its bumper and windshield. police say the victim is 39-year-old zubery lattice brown. he was walking on route 301 on pointer ridge drive when he was hit. the driver remained on the scene. we're working to know more it this accident between a train and a car. the man in the car is in critical condition this morning. check out the damage to the car afterward. police say it looks like the 25-year-old driver tried to speed up to beat a train at cherry tree crossing in brandywine, maryland. there are no gates at the crossing. investigators say warning lights were flashing as the train approached. today family and friends will say a final good-bye to the first african-american to represent prince george's county in the maryland general assembly. tonight is the viewing for former maryland delegate christine jones. it's happening at the bethlehem baptist church on martin luther king avenue in southeast d.c. it's from 7:00 to 9:00 tonight. jones died after rescuers pulled

her from her burning home in temple hills. she was 83 years old. her funeral is tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. a maryland woman who works for the prince george's county government is now suing the county and her employers at the department of health. arita treadwell says her boss sexually harassed her. the county investigated her accusations against christopher aladepo and ruled the harassment probably did occur. treadwell says she even got a peace order from the court against her boss, but he violated. the executive office said it conducted an internal investigation and took the appropriate action. don't write off saturday mail delivery yet. several members of congress say they may challenge the postal service's plan to cut pack to five days a week delivery service. the postmaster general announced the plan yesterday. congress banned the cut in its continuing budget resolution. that expires next month. attorneys for the postal service, though, say the agency has the legal right to make the change. someone not too far away struck it rich overnight. where a winning powerball ticket was sold. plus, the bare bones web

site that has some people wondering about hillary clinton's political future. also right now, there were a lot of

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good morning, i'm at the live desk following breaking news out of australia where firefighters haare dealing with wildfire they expect to get worse. there's video now. you see how devastating the fire is. you see the flames out of control. firefighters have called for reinforcements. they are evacuating community in the fire's path. they're trying to get animals as well as people and other things out of there. again, we are following this breaking news out of australia. specifically, tasmania. they are dealing with a wildfire expected to hit several communities.

we'll continue to follow the story. back to you. >> thank you. if you have friends, maybe family in the richmond area, give them a call this morning. we just learned overnight that somebody there won the powerball jackpot worth $21 million. we'll show you the numbers in case you bought a ticket -- 5-27-36-38-41, and the powerball is 12. powerball confirms that the winning ticket was sold in the richmond area. for security reasons they will not release the exact location now. however, they do expect to make an announcement later this morning. we want to let you know that the screen says $27 million. it's actually $217 million. a huge jackpot. aaron's called everybody he knows in richmond, waiting for a call back. >> i think my older sister plays the lotteriment i'm hoping.

and hoping she loves me. >> time for weather and traffic on the 1s. tom? >> good morning. starting off feeling february cold. weather and traffic on the 1s now. 6:41, down into the 20s. that includes all the virginia, maryland, west virginia, and closer in, montgomery county, upper 20s. now upper 20s in prince george's county. arlington, fairfax, also mid to upper 20s there. and reagan national now at 33. much of the district of columbia below freezing. reagan national and warmer waters of the potomac. we have snow moving into ohio. the other storm is to the south. both of these will converge off the jersey coast late tonight into tomorrow. ahead of that, moisture may be producing flurries in loudoun county and into montgomery county. that's zipping north and east. temperatures will stay below freezing for another couple of hours. by noon, the upper 30s. here's the temperature scale, the time scale here. by mid-afternoon, ought to be hitting the low four40s. the bulk of precipitation will

push in around 10:00, 11:00. after midnight, a little snow and sleet melting on roadways. i think all the road temperatures will be above freezing. by then, changing to all rain into friday. i'll have details on that and how that storm may be affecting us, that big new england storm, for friday into saturday. a leak at the seven-day outlook in ten minutes. a look at traffic now with danella. good morning. we'll start in virginia. a couple of accidents to report. northbound backlick at springfield boulevard. the crash is blocking the right lane. heading to 395, just past edsall, crash here is blocking the right side of the roadway. looks like just the left lane will get you by the accident. three vehicles are on involved. reportedly non-life-threatening injuries. however, one of the drivers seems to be trapped in the car because of the way that the cars have crashed. it may take some time to clear this accident. traveling 395 northbound, you're jammed approaching the beltway. you see here, just before the accident, cars are just sitting, trying to make their way by the accidents where they squeeze single file it the left. let's head over now to 50 in

maryland. good news. no accidents to report from the bay bridge. all the way bowie to the beltway. however, delays start around 410 past landover road. the drive will take almost about ten minutes. i'm back in ten. over you to. >> thank you. 6:43. we could get answers today it a mysterious development in the case of the man convicted of killing chandra levy. the d.c. court of appeal will rule whether details from recent hearings involving ingmar guandique will be made public. guandique will be in court today in the district. as with previous hearings, we still don't know what this hearing is about. we do know there have been two other closed door hearings in recent months to discuss the credibility of a witness in guandique's trial. we don't know if that witness is the man who testified that guandique confessed to killing levy while in prison on an unrelated conviction. this morning, two people out of their home after a house fire in silver spring. when firefighters got to dower drive, they found the two people

safely outside the home. the upper level was engulfed in flames. much of that top floor was gutted. the cause of the fire is under investigation. police are investigating whether two brazen robberies at jewelry stores are connected. surveillance video captured both robberies. police arrested one man suspected in this robbery at a store in frederick. a witness saw what was happening and flagged down police. investigators are still looking for two more robbers. arlington police are looking whether the same robbers are responsible for another smash and grab at a zale's jewelry store in pentagon city mall. 16 before the hour. d.c. police need your help to find the man who kidnapped and sexually assaulted a teenager. take a look at that sketch on your screen now. this is the guy they're looking for. he attacked a 16-year-old girl while she was walking to school in northeast d.c. last week. police say he grabbed her, forced her into his suv, drove for a while, groped her, and then let her go. today, prince george's county schools will decide if it

will implement new safety measures in the wake of the newtown, connecticut, shootings. according to the "washington post," the board of education will receive recommendations today that include requiring every person entering a county school to show i.d. schools will hold two safety drills each year including a lockdown exercise next months and an active shooter drill in april. a man is under mental evaluation this morning after causing a scare in an anne arundel county school. 25-year-old justin beaumont is accused of trespassing at north county high school in glen burnie. police say he walked in and told people he was bullied when he was a student there a decade ago. officers arrested him. but when they searched his home, they say they found several weapons. police say the guns are legal, and beaumont was not armed when he went into the school. today, house democrats are expected to offer their recommendations to cut gun violence. people familiar with the gun control plan say it calls for banning assault weapons and banning high-capacity magazines that carry more than ten rounds of ammunition.

the recommendations are similar to president obama's gun control plan. the house democrats are holding their winter retreat in virginia. president obama will join them today to promote his second-term agenda. that meeting takes place at the lansdowne resort in leesburg. the president is scheduled to be there this afternoon. before the meeting, the president will speak at the 61st annual national prayer breakfast. it's happening at the washington hilton in northwest d.c. the president will meet with religious and community leaders. this video is from last year when he said he relies on his faith and values to guide him. today a very busy day on capitol hill including two high-profile hearings. leon panetta will testify before congress today, perhaps for the financial time as defense secretary -- final time as defense secretary. he and the chairmen of the joint chiefs of staff will answer questions about the deadly attack on the consulate in benghazi, libya. they'll fill in the armed services committee on the results of the depends department's internal review. four americans were killed including ambassador christopher

stevens. and sparks could fly when president obama's pick to head the cia answers questions at his confirmation hearing. democrats and republicans on the senate intelligence committee will likely grill john best friend brennan. the chief counter terrorism adviser is under scrutiny for the administration's use of drone strikes to kill suspected terrorists overseas. the senate intelligence committee will also likely grill him over his support for the bush administration's interrogation policies. brennan served in the cia under publish george w. bush -- under president george w. bush. committee members should have secret documents about the controversial drone program before the hearing begins today. the white house says the justice department sent classified advice about the program to the senate and house intelligence committees. the documents reportedly state that it is legal for the government to kill u.s. citizens overseas if it believes they're high-ranking terrorist who are trying to kill americans. new this morning, iran says it has decoded video from a u.s. drone captured more than a year

ago. these are the images airing on iranian television this morning. the video appears to show an aerial view of an airport and a city. iran claims that city is kandahar in afghanistan. we have not heard from the pentagon on this latest development. the u.s. did confirm in 2011 that one of its unmanned drones went missing. former senator chuck hagel will have to wait a little longer to learn if he'll be the next secretary of defense. members of the senate armed services committee decided to delay his confirmation vote scheduled for today. that's after republicans demanded more information. several senators want more details on hagel's business dealings and the content of past speeches. democrats say the move is just political posturing, and they fully chp him to be confirmed. -- fully expect him to be confirmed. the pentagon taking drastic action to reduce the number of aircraft carriers in the strategic persian gulf from two to one. that decision comes just a day before the "us harry truman "was

to leave norfolk for the gulf. the pentagon has kept two carrier groups stationed in the gulf for the past two years as tensions rise with iran. this morning, a mega merger of two major airlines is reportedly close to becoming a done deal. cnbc has more live on the details. berth agood morning. >> reporter: good morning. this has been a very long courtship. american airlines' parent amr and usairways are reportedly hashing out the final details of their merger. which could be announced in the next week or two. a deal would create the world's biggest airline. the "wall street journal" says the transaction would be part of american's reorganization in bankruptcy court in order to take it out of bankruptcy. the carrier filed for chapter 11 at the end of 2011. under the deal, amr's creditors would control the majority of the new company. and boeing is reportedly working on a redesigned battery aimed at minimizing fire risks on the troubled 787 dreamliner jet which has been grounded

worldwide. the "wall street journal" reporting boeing hopes to get the passenger plane flying again as soon as march. the faa has given the company permission to make a special one-time test flight from texas to washington state that would be very, very controlled. the ntsb meantime says it's probably going to be weeks away from completing its probe into the battery incidents. this has really been a big mystery. but folks are -- are happy that it at least it's -- we've got a timeline, a few weeks, a little bit of an end post to look at. >> thank you. today the debate over the redskins name will heat up again. the american indian museum is holding a forum today on the issue, on the use of native nicknames in mascots in sports. the redskins and atlanta braves are probably the most visible names and most talked about. the director of the american indian museum told the associated press he thinks the name redskins is the most

offensive. we want to know what you think about the redskins, whether they should keep their name or change it. let us know on the "news4 today" facebook page. >> an ongoing debate. this is a beloved team in this city. a lot of people saying in the nation's capital, a name like that is unacceptable. we'll see what comes out of that meeting. >> indeed. 6:51. let's look outside. the sun reaching into the sky. we'll see what we can expect weatherwise. tom? >> there's a lot of cloudiness. we might have a little peek of sun around dawn, 20 minutes away. right now at 6:51, reagan national airport at 34 degrees. and we have a very light easterly wind right now. and you see first light of dawn showing up on the eastern horizon. and temperatures all around the region are down into just the 20s. that includes all of maryland, all of virginia, and all of west virginia. and the warm spot iseration national where they're at 34 -- is reagan national where they're at 34. the potomac water around the upper 30s temperaturewise.

cloudiness around. they are producing maybe a few scattered flurries near winchester, leesburg, into central montgomery county, but that's not the main event we've been talking about the last couple of days. through the morning, we'll just have cloud cover with us. by noontime, it will be maybe around 40 degrees. winds kicking in a little out of the south and east. going forward into this evening, as of 11:30 tonight, this is the leading edge of precipitation pushing from the south. initially rain, west and north there could be a wintry mix especially shenandoah valley west. there could be snow and sleet initially, midnight until around 2:00, 3:00 in the morning. elsewhere, looks like all rain the rest of the day. by dawn on friday, though, all that sleet and snow out in the shenandoah valley, the ending should be melteding on the roadways there, too. then rain the rest of friday. into friday evening. then that storm really develops and deepens rapidly off the jersey coast. when that happens, it's going draw in colder air, bring us maybe snow showers and flurries

by late friday into early saturday morning. perhaps into midday saturday. we'll clear out saturday afternoon. but we're going to have strong winds and colder weather moving in after the rain ends on friday. then saturday afternoon, just near 40. sunday, sunny, 20s in the morning. afternoon highs in the mid 40s. milder monday. maybe rain. and then maybe even into the 50s on tuesday with some sunshine. maybe a little more rain on wednesday. i'm back with frequent updates throughout the "today" show. the latest on our traffic with danella. good morning. good morning. just in to the first 4 traffic office, traveling the beltway, outer loop in montgomery county, new hampshire avenue. right lane is blocked by a new crash there. the outer loop dealing with significant trouble this morning. earlier at georgia avenue, your crash was blocking all of your lanes. that accident, it's moved to the shoulder lane. traveling the outer loop, two things to look out for -- right lane blocked at new hampshire avenue. closer to georgia avenue, k accident off to the shoulder lane. rubbernecking, slow trip. to virginia, 395 just past edsall.

you can see here, crash just blocking the entire right side of the roadway. you can get by single file to the left here. now as you're making your commute, you're jammed on 395. you see here sitting as you make your way past the 2000. to get to the -- past the beltway. to get to the wilson bridge, almost 20 minutes. shooting to the rails, still a minor delay, six minutes. this is camden south, train number 845. aaron, metro, vre look good. >> thank you. this morning, some potential players in the 2016 presidential race are in the news for very different reasons. florida senator marco rubio will deliver the republican response to the president's state of the union address. the 41-year-old cuban american is part of a bipartisan effort to craft a comprehensive immigration reform bill. you can see the president's state of the union address and the gop response next tuesday here on nbc 4. meanwhile, new jersey governor chris christie is fighting back against criticism about his weight.

you may remember that christie joke about his health on david letterman this week, pulling out a doughnut after the segment. after that appearance a former white house doctor said she's concerned christie could die in office. he didn't let the comment go and addressed his struggles during a press conference. >> if you talk it anybody in this room who struggled with their weight, what they will tell you is that every week, every month, every year there's a plan. the idea that somehow i don't care about this, of course i care about it. and i'm making the best effort i can. and sometimes i'm successful, and other times i'm not. >> christie also called the doctor a hack and said she should shut up until she came to new jersey and examined him in person. hillary clinton has been out of office for less than a week now. this morning, a new web site has people talking about her next job. this is hillaryclintonoffice.com. the site only allows users to

contact the former secretary of state. but the future is unclear. ifdaddy operate the site, but it is privately registered, so it's unknown who is behind that page. today hall of fame basketball player magic johnson will visit the district in hopes of fighting the stigma surrounding hiv. johnson will speak at howard university hospital between 1:00 and 3:00 this afternoon. he retired abruptly in 1991 after learning he contracted the disease. he has since started a foundation to fund research and educate the public about hiv and aids. this is going to be a night to remember for young musicians who traveled a very long way to get here to washington. ♪ >> musicians from the afghanistan national institute of music will perform at the kennedy center tonight. here they were in bethesda earlier this week hearing a performance by the holton arms school in bethesda. holton arms junior, alice sprinkle, will join them for the show. >> how awesome. i'm glad they're here.

>> a great honor them. the kennedy center. tom's got our out-the-door forecast. you need your winter coat. we're in the 20s now. highs near 40 today. might get a wintry mix tonight. then all rain on friday. windy and cold saturday with flurries. back to you. >> all right. thank you. and that is "news4 today," thank you for starting your day with us. >> the "today" show is next. we'll be back in

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